Overview

• The Gamagōri City Public-interest Whistleblower Investigation Committee delivered its report on July 9 confirming a considerable probability that female and nonresident applicants were each penalized one point during document screening.
• The panel determined that male candidates on the pass/fail borderline received more favorable treatment in both the written and interview stages.
• Although the report acknowledged a “considerable probability” of score manipulation under instructions from then-Mayor Masayoshi Inaba, it stopped short of definitive fact-finding on his direct involvement.
• Investigators highlighted the challenge of establishing facts more than a decade after the 2013–14 exams, citing limitations in testimony and record availability.
• Mayor Toshiharu Suzuki said he takes the committee’s findings seriously.